Dover School Board reorganizes, talks plansThe Dover School board reorganized for the new school year and discussed long term plans at its regular monthly meeting Oct. 18. Ed Whitted was selected as board president, David Dale as vice-president, and Mark Evans as secretary. Evans was also named district disbursing officer. Angie Smith was selected as Dover's Arkansas School Board Association delegate. Superintendent Jerry Owens gave a brief overview of the district's last five year pla...

by
BY STEVE LEAVELL
sleavell@cswnet.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

OTA program hosts continuing education classOZARK -- The Arkansas Tech University-Ozark Campus occupational therapy assistant program will host "Vision and How it Affects Learning" with Dr. Wanda Vaughn, developmental optometrist with the Arkansas Vision Development Center. The class, which is free and open to the public, will be from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Friday, Nov. 4 in the Collegiate Center. The class provides opportunity for professionals to earn one continuing education unit. Wendi Poo...

Airport fuel sales continue to climbMembers of the Russellville Regional Airport Commission learned during its meeting Tuesday night that combined aviation gas and jet fuel sales this year are 37 percent higher than the same period in 2015. Airport Director Keith Frazier said fuel sales totaled 72,995 gallons from January through the end of September, compared to 53,284 for the same period in 2015. Fuel sales through August of this year totaled 59,712, compared to 46,471 gallons...

Council approves smaller tax increaseDue to an amendment to the Arkansas Constitution, the Russellville City Council could not raise the firefighter pension fund millage from .4 to .8 mills, as it voted to do Oct. 20. So aldermen called a special meeting Thursday and approved a 10 percent increase to the millage, which would keep the police pension fund the same at .4 mills and raise the firefighter pension fund to .44 mills. That repealed the Oct. 20 resolution that increased th...

Police: Man, 60, was assaultedJustin M. Lemmon, 30, was convicted of battery charges just two days before appearing in felony bond hearings facing separate second-degree battery charges. Lemmon said it was all a lie because his victim hoped he would have been sent to prison instead of receiving probation on the previous charge. "That's why he lied on me on this," Lemmon told District Judge Don Bourne during his hearing on Wednesday. "He wanted me to go to prison, but I got...

by
BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
simpson@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Feedback received from Pop Up El PasoPop Up El Paso, a project that Arkansas Tech University (ATU) and Miller Boskus Lack Architects (MBLA) along with Uncommon Communities collaborated, took place down El Paso Avenue on Oct. 22. Tabatha Duvall with Uncommon Communities said ATU and MBLA conducted studies to gather public opinion on what residents would like to see on El Paso Avenue. The hashtag #experienceelpaso was created as part of their research. Patrons could use the hashtag...

Mumps outbreak growingWith the recent outbreak of mumps in Northwest Arkansas, concern of it spreading may be among the top of the list for topics in areas within driving range. According to Meg Mirivel, MA public information officer with the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH), the first two cases of mumps within this outbreak in northwest Arkansas happened mid-to late-August of this year. But the outbreak isn’t limited to just Arkansas. “We believe it started wit...

ASP recovers 58 pounds of pot from I-40Arkansas State Police siezed $92,800 worth of marijuana during a routine traffic stop on at approximately 9:35 p.m. on Sunday. An officer initiated the stop on a U-Haul truck for following too close and swerving to the right shoulder. According to the police report, the driver, identified as Sergio Lopez, 54, was extremely nervous and struggled to talk as he attempted to explain why he was traveling from California. After receiving permission ...

by
BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
simpson@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Gone fishing: Special adventure field tripTHE COURIER / Emily Srader Russellville School District special needs students, children of varying abilities that participate in self contained classes with a group of their peers, took a field trip last week to Shiloh pond to go fishing. Members of Pope County Search and Rescue gave tours of their vehicles to the children and an Arkansas Game and Fish Wildlife officer taught the children about boat safety. Students were also able to practice...

NKR to host first low-cost spay/neuter clinicNo Kill Russellville (NKR) announced its first low-cost spay and neuter clinic, which will take place during the month of December. As part of its mission to help reduce pet overpopulation, NKR has partnered with local veterinarians to provide spay and neuter services at a reduced cost for low-income families in the Arkansas River Valley. Participants in the clinic will pay just $20 to have their dog or cat sterilized, and NKR will cover the r...

Consumer Alert:Submitted Report LITTLE ROCK -- The school year is off to a fast start, but unfortunately some school personnel and others are reportedly receiving disturbing emails in their inboxes. The Attorney General's office has received inquiries from teachers across the state that scammers are spoofing a superintendent's email address and requesting the staff member wire money to an out-of-state bank. These scam artists can be persuasive in convincing ...

City Council: 'Mini-house' ordinance read for second timeDOVER -- The Dover City Council approved the second reading of an ordinance amending the city zoning code Oct. 18, at their regular monthly meeting. The proposed amendment, first introduced in September, defines the acceptable measurements and placement of "mini-houses" intended as dwellings and constructed as subsidiaries to existing structures. The proposal will become law, providing it passes its third reading, set for the council's Novembe...

by
BY STEVE LEAVELL
sleavell@cswnet.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Russellville bands receive highest honor at contestThe Russellville Junior High School and the Russellville High School Marching Bands performed Oct. 18 at the Arkansas School Band and Orchestra Association Region IX Marching Assessment at Cyclone Stadium on the RHS campus. Both schools received all First Division Superior Ratings from all three judges at the assessment, which is the highest rating possible. This is the first step in achieving the ASBOA Arkansas Sweepstakes Award, which is the...

by
BY ASHLEY SNELLENBERGERThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Quinn Jones the new PIOLast Friday, the Russellville Police Department witnessed some change. Quinn Jones took over for Drew Latch as the department's public information officer. "It's everything I've wanted to do, wrapped into one," Jones said. Jones is originally from Mountain View and moved to Russellville when he began his degree at Arkansas Tech University. He didn't want to leave Russellville, though; it was beginning to feel like home. "I feel like the commun...

by
BY SIERRA MURPHY
murphy@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Convention center cost estimated at $17.5 millionThe Russellville Planning Commission approved two items related to The Landing convention center and hotel project during its regular meeting Monday at City Hall. The Landing of Russellville preliminary plat and the proposed Hilton Garden Inn and convention center large-scale development were both approved. Allen Williams of AW Engineering, on behalf of David Hunt, told commissioners final design plans were 90 percent complete for the estimate...

Agreement reached on $54.4 million Entergy Arkansas rate increaseLITTLE ROCK -- Entergy Arkansas and four other parties have agreed to a $54.4 million electric rate increase for 2017. Reports state that Entergy, the Public Service Commission's general staff, the attorney general's office, Arkansas Electric Energy Consumers and a group of hospitals and colleges settled on the figure. The figure reflects a 3.38 percent increase for each residential customer. Entergy, the state's largest utility, had initially...

Dover School Board holds annual reportDOVER -- The Dover School District presented its annual mandated Report to the Public as a prelude to its regular monthly meeting Tuesday, Oct. 18. This year, the public consisted of the school board, about a dozen school employees, and one news reporter. Superintendent Jerry Owens began the session with an overview observing that all schools within the system had been fully accredited and that all school board members had completed state mand...

by
BY STEVE LEAVELL
sleavell@cswnet.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley